Army rolled the dice again and again and again and came up a winner over Kansas State Saturday night.
The Black Knights, a 17.5-point underdog, converted six of seven fourth downs, several deep in their own territory, recovered a squib kick, monopolized the play clock and utilized some unique plays to defeat host Kansas State, 24-21 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The shocking victory, Army’s first against a Power Four opponent on the road since a victory over Wake Forest in 2016, evened the Black Knights’ record at 1-1.
Kansas State, viewed as one of the preseason favorites to win the Big 12 Conference, is now 1-2, with each game being decided by a 3-point margin.
There were heroes everywhere. First and foremost was Cale Hellums, the second-string junior quarterback whose most college experience in a game amounted to a handful of snaps against Tarleton State last week. Starting for the injured Dewayne Coleman, Hellums, after a slow start, took control of the game, leading the Black Knights to an unlikely 16-play, 75-yard drive in just 2:25 that resulted in a three-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass to Brady Anderson on the last play of the first half to cut a Kansas State lead to 13-7.
The late first half touchdown definitely swung the momentum in Army’s favor. After halftime, Army dominated the time of possession, limiting the Wildcats to just eight offensive plays in the second half.
Midway through the third quarter, Hellums again led the Black Knights on a 14-play, eight-minute drive, that culminated in his 1-yard run to give Army a 14-13 lead. The drive featured a 52-yard option pass from Army’s Mr. Everything, Noah Short, to Anderson. Short ran for 61 yards on 10 carries and caught two passes for 15 yards in addition to his completion.
Then, after Kansas State took a 21-14 lead on a 99-yard kickoff return moments later, Hellums marched Army down the field two more times, the first resulting in a 35-yard field goal by Dawson Jones to cut the Wildcats lead to 21-17. The second, another nearly eight-minute drive, featured a 14-yard rushing touchdown by Hellums that put Army ahead 24-21 with less than three minutes left in the contest.
Hellums, who was told only on Thursday that he would start, finished the game with 124 rushing yards on 41 carries, the most by a single player in one game in the 135-year history of Army football, and completed seven of 11 pass attempts for 43 yards.
“The first drive I had jitters and nerves like anyone would, it is a big-time game and my first career start,” Hellums said. “Once that settled down, I dove in and got a rhythm, the play calling with Coach (Cody) Worley got on the same page and I got some confidence. Putting together that last drive going into halftime was huge for us. We needed that and I think that brought fire to us and helped us throughout the second half.”
Another standout was the Army offensive line, much-maligned for a mediocre effort against Tarleton State last week, but in full control of the line of scrimmage for most of the game against the Wildcats. In total, Army ran for 237 hard-earned yards in the game and had the ball for more than 40 minutes to less than 20 minutes for Kansas State.
“I really could not be prouder,” said senior co-captain and linebacker Andon Thomas. “Cale is second string and stepped into a big role and played a great game. But we won that game up front, the (offensive line), the tight ends and receivers. They all blocked their tails off. We won it upfront and we made some really good runs. I am just so proud of the offense.”
The Black Knight defense did their part as well, giving up just one defensive touchdown to the Wildcats. Most importantly, the defense shut down Kansas State’s last drive late in the game, when senior safety Collin Matteson, starting only his second game at Army, made a circus-catch interception that sealed the win. Matteson also had three pass breakups on Kansas State’s final drive.
In total, Army held Kansas State to just 247 total offensive yards and just 75 rushing yards.
“It was a big play,” said Matteson, whose father was born at nearby Fort Riley, Ks. and participated in the recruiting process at Kansas State. “We knew that we had to get them off the field and we had to make a play. Everyone trusted each other to do their job.”
Finally, Monken expressed his pride in Jones, first for making the field goal in the fourth quarter and, second, for executing the squib kick on the ensuing kickoff that hit a Kansas State player and bounced back to Army’s Cole Searight at the Army 44-yard line.
“It was just a huge win and I am really, really proud of our team,” said Monken. “I don’t know when I was more proud of an Army team than I was tonight. We were down 13-0, then we take the lead, 14-13. They return the (ensuing kickoff) for a touchdown and get a two-point conversion and all of a sudden they are up, 21-14. We did not fold the tents. Our guys just kept fighting.
“There was not any body language on the sideline that would indicate that our guys did not believe they were going to win the game or they were going to die trying. To go through that adversity and have our backs to the wall and to find a way to win was just awesome.”
Of course, Monken said that his team, and coaches, also remember the loss to Tarleton State last weekend and how that played a role in the preparation for this game.
“After suffering the defeat last week and the dejected, the sick feeling was indescribable,” he said. “It consumed me all week and to get that victory there is some relief. It is an emotional relief, though I am still disappointed we lost last week, to see our team fight like they did and overcome that adversity against a great football program.”
